Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
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RET AILING TODA Y concept as neighborhood bar was lost when the previous owners began ex- panding the format to between 6,000 and 8,000 square feet. "It got expanded too large, and too quickly," he said. "In my opinion, if you keep it simple and right-size it, it still has great viability in a lot of urban markets." So far, Bar Louie is letting the indi- vidual locations dictate the right size. The footprint currently ranges from 4,000 to 9,000 square feet, and the smaller ones tend to be in neighbor- hoods, while the larger units are often near sports venues or movie theaters. Late-night customer traffic is important for a bar, of course, but the company also likes to be near strong daytime population and work places to take ad- vantage of the lunch and happy-hour business. As they expand, the new managers have been reintroducing some of the original design elements. Over the years, Bar Louie's handcrafted tile mosaics Bar Louie typically retrofits, as opposed to resorting to ground-up construction, and will usually change to fit the space. had given way to more-generic com- mercial tile, but the new restaurants bring back that intricate tile work from the earlier days. "We really avoid trying to standardize too much," said Devlin. The company typically retrofits exist- ing space, as opposed to resorting to ground-up construction, and will usu- ally change to fit the space. "We love finding space that is unique and a little bit funky," said Devlin. The company is interested in a va- riety of real estate options, from con- verted urban buildings to in-line spaces and end caps at shopping centers. And yet, to hear the new managers explain it, Bar Louie is a chain that does not want to look like a chain. "We want to open restaurants, and we are not ashamed of that," Devlin said, "but we are averse to anything that is chainlike. SCT For leasing information, contact Maurie Molod, director of real estate, BL Restaurant Operations, at molod@blro.net, or (617) 905-3512. 116 SCT / MAY 2012